Thoughts on parenthood.

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waiting for waiting

We’re still planning on #2 in 2015, despite Mike’s layoff. We’re optimistic he’ll be employed by then. And hey, if not — free daycare!

Buuuut seriously.

It’s on my mind because of articles like this, which support the theory that what a mother eats well in advance of getting pregnant has an impact on the pregnancy, which means I kind of need to get on it. Certainly being deficient in folate and Vit-D is a concern; I’ll be upping both in the coming weeks.

Aaaand…I’m old. I need all the edge I can get. That means getting back to the best I’ve felt. And the best I’ve felt was when I was eating paleo.

Oh, the paleos. Vegetarians hate it, normal people wonder what’s so bad about bread/pasta/donuts, waiters roll their eyes when yet another person asks if there’s gluten in their iced tea*. I want to grab my walker and remind people I was doing the paleos before Tim McGraw was, and maybe to get off my lawn (seriously, I just got that thing to grow back), but what’s the point? I don’t need to prove to anyone what makes me feel right. It works for me, I’m not surprised when it works for other people.

The biggest problem, of course, is that meat ain’t cheap, and I’m off one of the cheapest sources (eggs), and we kind of are on a restricted budget right now (see: layoff). I’ve been cutting our meat portions in half and supplementing with rice, potatoes, and corn, but it’s not — strictly — paleo. And I don’t have that buzz I got when I was doing the very strict, very meaty, full-of-fibrous-vegetables paleos.

Historically, I tend to use the day after my birthday to “reset” my diet clock, and this year’s no exception. From my birthday, I have 6 months before we start “trying”, and if Zoe is any indication, “trying” will take a few months, possibly less. When mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner, I said, “Steak, please.” What better way to go back to what works for you, then at the hands of your own mom?

And of course, there are two other matters: I want to lose the last of the Zoe-weight before I pack on another kid, and I want to get some exercise in, too. We were actually doing a really good job of going for walks, Mike and I, during the first pregnancy. Then I miscarried, and we cut back because of the anemia, and then I whammo got pregnant again, and between moving and adjusting to the current wee one, it’s been a yo-yo.

But I think — knock on all the wood — things are settling. My physical therapist seems to think I need to get my back strong, and I agree. So I’m going to start focusing on strength training again, and getting in my 7500 steps a day, and not go too crazy.

I’m a planner. I like to plan. For all its pain and tribulations, pregnancy is an exciting time. Unique, surprising, promising, and sometimes rife with pain and fear and constantly needing to pee…but also great potential. I hope we’re successful again. I’d like Zoe to know the joys (and eye-rolling tests of patience) (but mostly joys) of being a sibling.

* You laugh, but boricha is made with barley, so technically, it’s possible!